Goldman Sachs has extended the deadline for lenders to commit to the loan backing its £2.8bn (€4.2bn) bid for the UK's Associated British Ports.

Syndication of the loan, which is being arranged by the US bank with Barclays, Royal Bank of Scotland and Dexia, a Franco-Belgian financial services group, was due to close on Friday but will be held open until the end of this week. Banks are being asked to back a £2.37bn senior loan. One banker close to the deal said it was in "great shape" but that investors wanted a few more days to commit. Lenders have been offered three different fees. For underwriting £125m of the loan they receive 50 basis points, for £75m they receive 40 and for £40m 30 basis points. The Admiral consortium buying ABP includes Goldman, the UK's Prudential through Infracapital Partners, Canadian investment fund Borealis Infrastructure Management and GIC Special Investments, the investment arm of the government of Singapore. They are injecting £1.07bn of equity into the deal, for which Goldman Sachs International will receive a 23% stake, Borealis and GIC Special Investments 33% each, and Infracapital 10%.